Monk Temple
The Monk Temple is a location featured in Jak 3. It is a Precurian monastery in the desert Wasteland, used by the Precursor Monks. It is situated off the south, southeast coast of the desert following a series of islets, likely utilized to prevent intruders (such as marauders) from gaining facile access. Although the temple itself is located within close proximity of Spargus, it appears to have closer ties with Mar and potentially Haven City: it is decorated with carvings of the Seal of Mar, and councilman Veger had special access to the place. The temple itself appears to be made mostly of stone, entailing many secret rooms, corridors and other passageways, adorned with statues of the ancient mythos surrounding the embellished appearance of the Precursors (including figurines and large structural statues). It is connected to many ancient eco pipelines, as a multitude of dark and light eco vents may be found here. It also connects to Mar's eco mine through underground sub-rails. As the stated mission of the Precursor Monks is to "discover and protect the secrets of the Precursors," most places in the temple are guarded with security apparatuses, namely sentries. History After first meeting the Precursor monk Seem at Spargus' beach and subsequently destroying the dark satellite that was there, Jak was informed of another satellite that had crash-landed in the Great Volcano. Seem stated that he lost an expedition of monks who went out to survey the "abomination" after gliding to the volcano from the temple. When Jak first visited the temple, he scaled the tower and reached a glider, which he proceeded to use to glide to the volcano. After finding the satellite (which had grown to a massive size and enrooted itself within a large volcanic cliff), Jak discovered a monk who had been petrified after touching a dark idol. However, when Jak touched the artifact, he received the Dark Jak power Dark Invisibility, which allowed him to bypass the sentries at the temple. Back at the temple, Jak was able to access the large front door guarded by the first sentry. He proceeded into the further levels of the temple, where he eventually found one of three large structural oracles, which bestowed upon him the first Light Jak power, Light Regeneration. Before he went before the oracle however, he first overheard a meeting between Veger and Seem, who discussed the oncoming of the Day Star and the discovery of the catacombs. Veger's connection with the monks, and his emphasis on finding the catacombs, perplexed Jak. Later, Ashelin Praxis returned to Jak his (new and improved) JET-Board and a completed Seal of Mar artifact. With these in hand, Jak returned to the temple and was able to use his seal to open a gate, then furthermore unlocked a second door using the JET-Board. He proceeded to the second of the three oracle heads, where he was given the light power Flash Freeze. He used his new power to slow down and bypass high-speed blades, whereupon he accessed a large room which contained the Catacombs rail rider and an entrance to sub-rails, which ultimately allowed him to re-enter Haven City. Jak lastly visited the temple after a distress call from Seem over a communicator. The monk imparted to Jak that Cyber Errol was using his new-found control of the Dark Makers to attack the temple. Jak destroyed the dark makers he was met with, and visited the oracle for the third time and received the light power Light Flight. He ultimately found Seem at the end of a long, ruined hall. It is here that Jak received the time map. A year later, in Jak X: Combat Racing, a race track known as the Precursor Temple made an appearance, which closely resembled the Monk Temple, and was possibly a renovation of it. Architecture Overview The Monk Temple consists of many networks and chambers interconnected with each other through various hallways and stairwells. It was built off the south, southeast coast of the Wasteland, and comprised its own large island, following a series of islets only accessible via the Dune Hopper. It was likely constructed by necessity, presumably facilitating the refuge of monks and the preservation and further discovery of Precursor artifacts and intelligence. The temple was either abandoned amid its construction or had gone into ruins by the time of Jak 3, as some parts had a derelict appearance and were visibly withdrawn from. Fallen walls and ruined columns could be attributed to the fact that nearly the entire temple is constructed primarily of stone, though also includes what appears to be mudbrick architecture. Walls and other structures were built out of large bricks of varying shapes, while the small corridors and some other places appeared to be made with more care, possibly constructed out of Precursor metal. The Temple does not appear to be a single construction, rather, a series of three constructions that ultimately lead to one of the three sides of a massive, structural oracle in the inner-most chamber of the entire architecture. Three of the four times Jak visited the Temple, he presented himself before the respective oracle at the pinnacle of a small staircase and received a Light Jak power for each one. However, the first time he visited the Temple he simply scaled the large tower in order to get to the top, during which he used the mudbrick slabs and steel poles that lined the tower to traverse it. This tower is also lined with many torches and flags, also embedded with staircases for easier access to the top. It is possible that at one point during the Temple's construction, this was built on purpose in order to aid in its building, but had decayed over time. Layout The Monk Temple opens up to a floor-bottom of a tall tower. The entirety of the temple is accessed through a door which is guarded by a sentry (which will activate floor spikes), located at the front of the first room. This door opens up to a small corridor consisting of steps, which leads to the primary chamber. The primary chamber has access points to the rest of the temple, and has an activation button which was protected by a perimeter of shock-inducing security monitors (until they were destroyed by Jak). The activation button may be depressed to open a door to another large chamber containing a series of swinging poles guarded by sentries, and high-speed blades at a higher level. This room has connections to three areas in the Temple; the first is to one of the three large structural oracles, the second is to an elevator leading to the sub-rails, and the third is to the ruined hall, which also has a connection to one of the three oracles. Back at the primary chamber, there is a gate which may be opened using the Seal of Mar. This leads to a large, water-filled ruins, at the end of which is a large door with a massive purple and blue Seal of Mar carving at the top. Past this door is another corridor which leads to one of the three oracles. Security The Temple is safeguarded by many defensive devices. The first type of security is the utilization of sentries; large, floating eyes which activate various forms of hazards such as floor spikes and electricity to prevent intruders from attempting to access what it is guarding. The second type of security found are auto-sensory shock-inducing monitors which were encountered in the main chamber of the temple. They formed a perimeter around the centre of the room, and were armored with what appeared to be Precursor metal. They floated above the air and would use their muzzles to shock intruders as soon as they stepped within proximity of their perimeter. A third form of defense was the employment of high-speed pillars which had very long, metallic blades. These were placed between the upper ledges of the primary chamber and preceded the long bridge connected to the sub-rails elevator. Gallery Monk Temple 5.png|The ruined hall. Monk Temple map 1.png|Map layout to the "Light Regeneration" oracle. Monk Temple map 2.png|Map layout to the "Flash Freeze" oracle. Monk Temple map 3.png|Map layout to the "Light Flight" oracle. Monk Temple outside map.png|Temple entrance map. References Notes Category:Locations in Jak 3 Category:Precursor Monks